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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · wind · mate · rock · drill · board · bore · land

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — a stone
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mate — a partner
  6. bore — to tire
  7. wind — moving air
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — to get on
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — in a road
  12. wind — moving air
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. land — ground
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. drill — army training
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a friend
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bore — to drill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com